At this point in our ongoing investigation, CFPUA can confirm there was a mechanical failure at the Michael E. Richardson Nanofiltration plant that caused high fluoride levels. The groundwater plant was not in operation when the mechanical failure occurred. During the plant’s “off” period, fluoride siphoned into stored water. When the plant restarted, high levels of fluoride released into the water system.
While the plant is in operation, CFPUA tests fluoride levels at least every four hours. After high levels were detected, staff immediately shut down operations and no more water was pumped from the plant.
Our fluoride feed will remain off until we complete our review. It is crucial that CFPUA fully understands the cause of the mechanical failure in order to identify and implement corrective measures to ensure this does not happen again. At this time, we expect to have a more thorough review of this incident by next week. We are dedicated to keeping the community informed.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused our customers. To show our appreciation for our customers’ understanding during this service interruption, CFPUA is recommending at $5 credit (the equivalent of roughly 500 gallons of water and wastewater service) to customers in the affected area. This recommendation will be made to the CFPUA Board on May 9. To follow this story as it develops, please visit our website at www.cfpua.org and sign up for our “Notify Me” program.